Liberal groups urge lawmakers to reject Obama judge pick

Feb. 20, 2014
|

President Obama speaks during a joint press conference with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper following their trilateral North American Leaders summit at the Palacio de Gobierno in Toluca, Mexico, on February 19, 2014. The three leaders joined for the summit of North American Leadersfor talks focusing on "a range of issues important to the daily lives of all of North America's people, including economic competitiveness, entrepreneurship, trade and investment, and citizen security." / JEWEL SAMAD AFP/Getty Images

by Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY

by Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY

A coalition of 27 liberal groups on Thursday called on Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject one of President Obama's judicial nominees.

The groups-which include NARAL Pro-Choice America, Human Rights Campaign and MoveOn-said in a letter to Democratic committee members that Michael Boggs has a "record that lacks a demonstrated commitment to fairness and equal justice with respect to issues of reproductive freedom, civil rights, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality."

The groups have taken exception to Boggs, who is currently a Georgia appeals court judge, because of his opposition to same-sex marriage and his support of legislation restricting abortion access restrictions. They also note his backing of keeping the Confederate symbol on Georgia's state flag during his time serving on that state's legislature.

Prominent civil rights leaders, including Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis and C.T. Vivian and Joseph Lowery, have already called on Obama to withdraw Boggs and Mark Cohen, another federal court nominee who as an attorney defended Georgia's state voter ID law.

Both Boggs and Cohen were picked as part of a deal between the White House and Georgia's two Republican Senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, as the White House moved to fill vacant seats on district court bench.

"We believe that Boggs's record on reproductive rights, civil rights, and LGBT rights is especially troubling in a nominee to the federal bench. Litigants in Georgia, and the nation as a whole, deserve a judge whose commitment to equal justice is clear," the coalition opposed to Boggs wrote.

The White House had no immediate reaction on Thursday to the call for Boggs's nomination to be rejected.